It had to be Rodri, didn’t it? The man who, before this season, according to football data website Transfermarkt, had missed just five games through injury for Manchester City since joining the club in 2019, is out — and possibly for the rest of the season. Why did it have to be Rodri who suffered…

BERLIN — “Vamoooooos,” a roar, and the ball skied in celebration. Carlos Alcaraz did what he normally does when he wins a tennis match — except this time he was dressed all in blue, playing on a black court, and about to be mobbed by Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Daniil Medvedev, men whose dreams…

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Kyle Shanahan could probably sense the possibility coming. Perhaps that’s why he was so adamant about breaking the Los Angeles Rams’ spirit. For most of Shanahan’s tenure in the Bay, the San Francisco 49ers have owned his buddy Sean McVay’s club. SoFi Stadium on Sunday was, again, a sea of red. The…

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. Much of the talk going into Tennessee’s trip to Oklahoma was about Volunteers coach Josh Heupel’s return to his alma mater, Heupel was right when, through teary eyes, he told his players that Saturday’s 25-15 win against the Sooners was…

Double the football, double the fun? That seems to be the NFL’s approach to a few Monday nights this year. There are four weeks featuring a “Monday Night Football” doubleheader this regular season, continuing the scheduling quirk that has become the norm since 2022. Why are there multiple Mondays with two games this season? It’s…

Stay informed on all the biggest stories in Formula 1. Sign up here to receive the Prime Tire newsletter in your inbox every Monday and Friday.  SINGAPORE — Max Verstappen has always made clear that he won’t be on the grid forever, no matter how much he loves racing and winning in Formula One. As the youngest-ever starter…

It was a meeting of the Premier League’s two best teams, a battle of tactical masters, a clash of technical brilliance and pure drama. Manchester City versus Arsenal just five games into the season lived up to its billing in many of the conventional ways and served up a memorable ending. Yet it also proved…

Nearly three years ago, with a conference title on the line, Baylor’s defense turned into a brick wall. In the final minute of the 2021 Big 12 Championship Game, Oklahoma State had four tries to get 2 yards and a go-ahead touchdown. The Bears allowed just 1 3/4, and Baylor won the Big 12 crown…

A week ago, Andy Dalton was a 36-year-old backup quarterback for the worst team in football tasked with mentoring last year’s top pick while Bryce Young slogged through a disastrous start to his second season. Dalton had bounced between five teams in five years. He had 163 NFL starts to his name. He seriously doubted…

The Minnesota Vikings look like the best team in the NFL’s best division, unless Sam Darnold’s MRI says otherwise. There’s a sentence no one saw coming. We aren’t crowning anybody after Week 3. Former Vikings coach Dennis Green (RIP) would not allow it. But the first three weeks of this season have been a revelation…